Garment pressing machine



June 11, 1935. E. H. ZACHARIAS GARMENT PRESSING' MACHINE Filed Dec 12, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 gwumkom 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 a g}; L

o i? l gwomtoo Edwn/Y M71115,

E. H. ZACHARIAS Filed Dec. 12, 1930 GARMENT PRESSING MACHINE Fig.4.

1 G I I June 11, 1935 Patented June 1 1, 1935 UNITED me"."*"ifi GARMENT PRiissnvGMAoHINE 'H. zachariasilfteadingifa. v Application December '12, real) serial 501,958

H 10 clai s fihisinv ention relates to'garment pressing 'machines particularly of the type in which there are two members adapted to receive between them a garment to be pressed, and at least one of the 5 members is movable vertically and" not thru an The principal object of the present invention is to provide an exceptionally sturdy garment pressing machine in whichthe're is no tendency for the garment to be wrinkled as the two ironing members come together as is the case in all ma chines where the upper iron moves about a hori: zontal pivot.

An important object of the invention is so to mount a slidable supporting bar upon anti-trim tion devices that it can be moved freely to' chosen position with slight effort when a garment or other object is not beingpres'sed and in which these anti-friction members are relieved" of all stress when the bar is under load. I v j r A further object of the present invention is the provision of an automatic latch which can be set to lock the upper and lower irons together with-a garment between them soto exert achos'en predetermined pressure, without attention onthe part of the operator. Q

A still further object of the invention is to mount-the upper iron so that it may have a swiveling action, the more readily to press seams and in which no stress is ever taken by the swing ing' means when the iron is engaged by a garmentherieath it, whether the upper ironi's moved down-- wardly or the lower iron is moved upwardly.

- In garment pressing machines of the most popular-type some little criticism has been di= fected to the slipping action of the two irons which is inherent in all machines wherethe upper iren is'pivoted about a horizontal axis, usually back of the table. In such a case the upper iron must'ne'ces'sarily move forward toward the operator as it is lowered and this causes a forward movement of the garment on the lqweriron as the two irons come together. This is not only somewhat harmful tothe garment but more import'ant still from a pressing standpointthis slip due'to the arcof movement will frequently cause wrinkles in the garment being pressed; This objection is entirely eliminated in the present device because the upper iron does" not move out ofits horizontal plane as aunit altho it has free: dhlof movement at'itS fro'I'it-and rear byyiitue (if-the swivel engagemeht betweeii the up er iron ar'idtlie horizontally slidabl bar wnien carnes it.- riifprevious attempts to utilize an upper iron carriedby a slielmg bar it has been-round that (C1 t-t9). A a some ektrabieeaution must be taken to provide the necessary strength at the parts as the punish= mht upon the bar and the parts which carry the bar is very greatparticularly where the leverage is very long; cannot be obviated but the stresses can-be 'iniriiiiiihd by a proper disposition at the swiveled carrier which in the present case is so constructed that the supporting surface for the iron carrying bar is" preferably at least three times as long as the distance from the bar to; th' vertical swings. r Y

Ahbtherobj ectier it the previous iron-carrying tars hasheen that it was entirely too hard to fi'i'cive them ime'posmen; This objection has been fitirely liinihatd by the provision of two, four, or even mere anti-frictieh hearings which are pisitionedst as to guide the' movement of-the tat in anyuhloaded position and yet whenpr'es sure is applied 'to'the iron either by moving the usprirea down or hyinoving' the lower iron upward; the bar is'instantly' moved outer con-'- taetwiththe aiiti-friction members which therefore take no load save the relatively light load etrneamn and the bar;

the drawings;

Figure 1- is' a sideelevation;

Figure 2 is'a from elevation" r'igure 3 is a-top plan view of the" carrier.

1 Figure 4 1s an elevation of the Carrier.

Figurefi shows the construction of the automatie latch. I Y igures isa detail of the iron swive1.- aberrant section ID of the frame consists of atubular staiidard which houses the vertically reciproating plunger l I" carrying thetable l2 which thru the two I-bea'rfis-"l3 supports the steam, gas, or electric heated lower iriin or buck M. In the form illustrated the standard I is expanded at s bfet'torh to form a circular pedestal I5 which furnishes theprir'iipal support of the device altho the lateral legs l6 and the rear leg H are preferably secured to the floor, and aid materially strengthening the s'tand'.- The upright standardri'siiig-froin the rear pertio'n of the frani e is of I-heaii'i section having a central web- I s re enfor ed; By rather sturdy front and rear flanges l9 e1: ter idiz'iig laterally-in beth directions. 'This' 1- beam section of the casting ends at'its upper-portidn in marked bearin the upper fork'for'hracliet beii ig" given *the numer'al 20 and thelowef rdrk or bracket being-given numeral 2]. Betweeh pivotabeut. which the carrier nut-ed as a whole" by thenumrai 25 and by a set screw 25', the heavy pivot 2|. I prefer to recess the carrier as at 26 to receive an antifriction bearing 27 to permit very ready turning of the carrier and its pivot 2| in the'arms or brackets of the forked end of the frame.

The means for moving the irons together may take any form and either or both irons may be moved but I desire that the movable iron shall move vertically and not thru an arc. As shown the means for elevating the table 12 .and'lower iron l4 follow in general principles the mechanism illustrated my application Serial No. 739,090 filed Sept. 22, 1924, patented November 17,, 1931, Patent N 0. 1,832,521, utilizing a treadle lever 39 pivoted between its ends in four; lugsjkand thru two links 32 operating two levers 33which turn about a pivoting fulcrumblock 34 which-is vertically movable into chosen adjusted: posi tion by means of the screw 35 bearing against the flange 35. Centrally thru both levers"33-is a shaft 3? which also: passes'thru or-extends from theplungenl l. By. depressing theitreadle 30, the table and with it the lower iron J4 is: elevated into contact with the upper iron40' should that member be in normalpressing position. b This construction I much prefer to havin'gthe table stationary: and vertically-moving the bearings 20 andzii ;.v .1 Referring p rticularly to Figures 3 and 4 a very important element of the present invention is the carrier 25 whichin plan view appears as a hollow three-sided casting strengthened by therib 39 andppen at its ifront face, having 'a recess therein to receive the bar. 4| which carries at its forward end the upper iron 40. It will be noted from Figure {l that the bearing surface for the bar Al -is not continuous; being cut away as at 43, 44 and 45 at the bottom'and at 46 and 41 at the top to save machining, leaving-at the left hand upper side; the important bearing surface 48 and at thelowen right hand 'sidetheequally important bearing surface 49 into engagement with which the bar is brought by upward presll 1 h -ironao. e

The anti-friction members 350 and 5] are mounted on studs 52 and 53 so located that the peripheral edge of he outer. memberof the bearing shall project into thegroove in the carrier a slight distance beyond the planes of thebearing surfaces 48 and 49, and these two bearings; with the optional similar antiefriction member 55 on stud 58 taking all of the weight of the iron and bar as the iron is moved in the carrier, the member 55 coming into use as the bar is telescoped'into-its recess. 1 The carrier also is providedwith a pair of anti-friction members 58 and 59 mounted on ver-.- tical studsBO and 6 I so positioned that both'shall engage the bar 4| at all times when the iron 40 is free. Thesetwo ball bearing devices are provided because in the-mounting of the iron 40 on the bar 4i itiis desired that therear or heel portion of the iron shall be heavier than the front portion of the iron and as a natural consequence there is a tendency for the bar to turn 'its top ed e towards the closure-plate 63 and itsrear bottom-edge toward the main pivpt2 I this tendency being resisted by these two anti frictiondevices on thevertical studs, which therefore facilitate movement of the bar. i l l, i. I .The specific mounting oft-he upper iron :40 on thevba r M is seeninFigure 6. A swivel headbolt 64 engagesquite loosely aspherical recess65 in the. handle 66 of; .the iron 40 and passesisnugly. thru the bar 4 I, carrying at its upper end the nut @L a o. holdinsin placethe stop 68, alt. will thus i i Al. i,

be seen that the iron 40 may be tilted i any direction about its supporting bolt 64 but that when the lower iron I4 is in pressing relation the bolt 64 is relieved of all stress and the entire stress istransmitted to the bar 4| from the top surface B9 of the lower section of the handle of the iron, it being understood that the bolt 64 is quite loose in relation to the handle or the iron and merely holds the iron against gravity.

Referring particularly to Figure 5 it is highly desirable that'amachin'e of the type described have some definite means for automatically securing a desired pressure and this is accomplished by pivoting on the frame l0 about pivots 10 and '11 a rack bar- "I2 and a lever 13 and mounting upon the pivoted treadle 3|! a small catch 14. The

"lev'cr' 'l3 isweighted as at 15 so as to tend to H throw the pedal 'l fi upward and the other arm of thislever carries a screw 11 which adjustably engages the rear edge of the pivoted and toothed rack 12, When thetwo irons are-separated the top surface ofthe treadle. is considerably above the level of. the elevated pedal Hi and-the opera:

tor has his foot upon the treadle 3l l with the toe portion orgies shoe above and slightly, rearward of the pedal 16. As the operator presses down the treadle .30 his foot will thereforecomeinto contact with the pedal 16 and this will-turn the lever 13 about its fixed pivot I! on the frame causing the screw 'l|'to engage the loosely hang,- ing'rack12 and move it forwardly into engage: ment with the plate 14 carried by.the treadle,-v automatically latching the-treadle atthe chosen degree of pressure which can be readily regulated by; movement'of the screw 'l'l which can belocked by the nut 18. To release'this latch it is merely necessary topress on the treadle 30 without simultaneously pressing on the pedal 16 where up'onlthe weighted endl5 will free the rack 12. .When it is desired to press a garment, ;the carrieris thrownifar to the right as seen in Figure 1 moving the upper iron 40 entirely to one side and, if desired, well backof the buck l4. The operatori is then free to place the garment on the buckin chosen: fashion without any interference by- Vany mechanism. This is madepossible by the right triangular shape of. the carrier and also by mounting it' 'on the right side of the frame as shown best in Figure 2. In this figure it isseen that whcnthelongsideof the carrier and there-; fore the bar 4|; is perpendicular to a plane-thru thev center line of the buck l4, their-on is at the extreme right endof the be n and is well out or V the way for the garment arranging step in the pressing process, After placing the garment as desired, the openator now swings the carrier to thefront and brings the iron into contact withv thegarment by depressing the treadle 30 to'give the required pressure. As long asthe pressure exerted thru the treadle 30 is slig ht the weight of the iron is carried bythe anti-friction devices and 5l and and at suchtimes-the iron can readily be tilted as may be desired, for example,

in the opening up of a seam. When greater pres-,

sure is exertedtagainst the treadle 30 the iron becomes stationary in a horizontal positionand the, pressure is transmitted directto; the bar.4 l,-

which engages the groove in thecarrier along the rather ample finished surface'48 raising the bar free of he anti-friction member 50 and; simultaneously tilting the bottom surface'of the. bar V4I- into firm .contact with theylower rear finishedsurfaceda; and awayfrom theanti fric- 4 tion device 5! above it. Because of the cut away spaces 44a1id..45 on eachside of the anti=fric-,

tion bearing 55, this member likewise is freed of all stress during the pressing operation. The anti-friction devices 58 and 59 being mounted on vertical pivots cannot and do not take any stress when pressure is exerted on the treadle 30. While I prefer to finish the surfaces 80, 8| and 82 at the bottom of the groove in the carrier which receives the bar 4|, and the surface 83 at the top, these surfaces are not actually needed and I find that after a certain amount of use of the machine the bar 4| does not contact with these surfaces. The surface 84 is, however, highly desirable and I find that the bar engages this surface under load even after a very considerable amount of wear. If desired, the surfaces 48 and 49 may be sloped, say one or two degrees downward to the right in Figure 4 but I do not find this necessary in practice as I only project the wheels of the roller bearings into the recess by a sixtyfourth of an inch, just enough to let the bar clear the finished surfaces readily under no load except the weight of the iron.

What I claim is:

1. In a garment pressing machine, an upper iron, a vertically movable lower iron, a depressible treadle for raising said lower iron to engage said upper iron, a latch, and means for operating the latch pivoted to lie below the level of the treadle when the treadle is in an elevated position and adapted to lie above the top of the treadle when the treadle is in a lowered position, said means lying adjacent said treadle to be engaged by the foot of the operator as the treadle is depressed whereby the operator may set the latch without shifting or otherwise moving his treadle engaging foot and is thus able to exert a maximum pressure on the treadle while giving his entire attention to the garment under pressure.

2. In a garment pressing machine, a frame having a relatively massive standard rising at the rear of the machine, said standard carrying on the right of the center of the machine a pair of integrally connected vertically spaced bearings, a laterally extending lower iron movably carried by the frame in front of the bearings for vertical movement, a carrier pivoted by a pin journaled in said bearings, a bar slidable in said carrier, an upper iron carried by the bar, saidupper iron telescoping its bar into the carrier as the iron moves toward the center of the lower iron from either end of the lower iron, said pin being removably secured to the carrier whereby the carrier may be removed and installed by the removal and replacement of the pin.

3. A supporting device for the upper iron of a garment pressing machine in which the lower iron is elevated into pressing engagement with the upper iron, consisting of a carrier substantially right triangular in plan, pivoted near the right angle and having a guide-way of substantially the same length as and parallel to the hypothenuse, a bar slidable in said guide-way, the axis of the pivot being spaced a, certain distance to one side of the front to back centerline of the machine, and said guide-way being spaced at substantially twice the distance from said axis.

4. In a garment pressing machine, a frame, a carrier mounted to swing abouta vertical pivot, a bar. slidable in said carrier, an ironmounted at the free end of the bar to turn about a vertical pivot, tobe movable about a plurality of horiswivelly mounted on its vertical pivot to tilt thereon from said horizontal opening a seam.

6. A carrier for a horizontally sliding iron supporting bar on which the iron is unevenly mounted so as to cause the bar to tend to turn about plane as it moves, as in a horizontal axis parallel tothe longitudinal center line of the bar, consisting of a body having .a channel across one side to receive loosely said bar and having an anti-friction device near one end of the carrier and on one side of the channel, and another anti-friction device near the other end of the carrier and at the other side of the channel, one of said anti-friction devices touching the bar near an upper edge in a manner to resist said turning and the other touching the bar near a lower edge.

7 A latch for a, garment pressing machine consisting of a toothed rack pivoted to the frame,

a lever having a pedal at one end and a rack vengaging portion at the other end, pivoted between its ends to the frame, a treadle pivoted to the frame to move past the pedal, a catch carried by the treadle in the path of the teeth of the rack as it is moved by the lever, said pedal lying in the path of an operators foot as the treadle is depressed whereby after an angle of movement of the treadle the pedal is engaged to move the rack into locking position with the treadle carried latch.

8. In a garment pressing machine having a garment supporting buck and an elongated iron supporting bar thereabove, a supporting frame, a carrier for said bar comprising a sleeve portion in which said bar is adapted to telescope and a pivoting portion adapted to be connectedto said frame, said connection being to the right side of the frame with respect to the front of the ma-.

chine, and the connection and sleeve being so spaced that when said sleeve is perpendicular to the buck the iron is at the extreme right end of the buck in which position the iron may be quick 1y moved after each work stroke and is thus always in position for a second stroke.

9. The device of claim 4 in which the pivot is connected to the iron to one side of the center of gravity so that the nose of the iron normally tilts upward when the iron is in suspended position.

10. The device of claim 4 in which the pivot is connected to the iron at a point so that the iron normally tilts about a transverse axis when in 

